Executive Board
President: Bernadette menendez
Bernadette Menendez (she/her) is a third year law student at Seton Hall Law.
She currently holds positions as the President for MetroLALSA and as a Director for the Rebeka Verea Foundation. She was previously the Vice President of Public Relations for MetroLALSA from 2022-2023.
As the daughter of Cuban immigrants who fled their home because of communism; attending law school is life-long dream come true. Bernadette’s parents taught her how to “echar pa’lante” and work hard for your dreams. The lessons she learned from her parents and her faith have been at the forefront throughout her career. As a first generation American, college student, and law student, she did not have attorneys to look up to or mentor her. This is her prime motivation for MetroLALSA, as she is passionate about ensuring mentorship is available to all latino/a/x law students. Her goal is to ensure the next generation of attorneys succeed by learning from her mistakes and taking wisdom from her triumphs. Bernadette is determined to be the best advocate for her community, her future clients, and for all the little Latinas who also dream of being “una abogada” one day.
Bernadette is currently finishing up her summer associate position with Davis, Saperstein & Salomon in Teaneck, NJ. After graduation, she looks forward to assuming the role of law clerk for Judge Gregg A. Padovano, J.S.C. for the 2024-2025 term.
Vice president of Public relations:Isabella loarte-ciudad
Isabella Loarte-Ciudad (she/her) is a Fordham Law student from Queens, New York. She went to Boston University for undergrad. She majored in Psychology and received a certificate in criminal justice. She was active in Alianza Latina-Latino Student Union, and founded BU’s chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. She was also a Queens County Supreme Court judicial intern.
During her first year of law school, Isabella worked full-time at the Special Victim’s Bureau of Queens District Attorney’s Office as a trial preparation paralegal. She was a 1L Rep. for Advocates for the incarcerated and Fordham’s LALSA. This summer she was a Safe Passage Project Intern (providing legal assistance to immigrant/refugee youth facing deportation).
Isabella is dedicated to serving the NY community. Isabella has been active in community organizing in Queens: she volunteered at a mutual aid that provided assistance to at-risk families, she was involved in an anti-displacement campaign, she conducted homeless outreach, she participated in park clean-ups and she organized a march against police brutality. For fun, Isabella loves to work out, create art, and thrift!
Isabella is currently MetroLALSA’s Vice President of Public Relations.
Vice President of Fundraising: AMILY bolano
Amily Bolano (she/her) is a third year law student at Rutgers Law School and currently hold the psoition of Vice President of Fundraising for MetroLALSA.
During her second year at Rutgers Law she was the representative of the Criminal Law Society and the MetroLALSA delegate for the Association of Latin American Law Students. She is committed to pro bono work and was the training Coordinator for the Courtroom Advocates Project (CAP). She is also an articles editor for the Rutgers International Law and Human Rights Journal.
This summer Amily is a law clerk for Mandelbaum Barrett, where she works in the Personal Injury Department.
Vice President of Social Action: Blanca Gates
Blanca Gates (she/her) studied criminal justice at the University of New Haven, which set her on the path to law school. Shortly after completing her undergraduate studies, Blanca started working for Project Reset at the Center for Court Innovation (CCI). She is currently a third year law student at New York Law School.
While at CCI, she was involved with the Race and Justice Council, and she helped to organize community events and to develop pilot programs that would be implemented in the community. Through her work, she became increasingly interested in public interest law - specifically public defense work. Blanca is also interested in civil and human rights policy work, both locally and internationally.
She is currently the Vice President of Social Action for MetroLALSA.
Vice President of Financial Affairs: Claudia Campos Martinez
Claudia Campos Martinez (she/her) is a New York Law School student from Queens, NY. She graduated from York College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration.
During undergrad, Claudia interned at the Legal Aid Society at their Queens County Criminal Defense branch. Through her experience at the Legal Aid, Claudia has grown to value and appreciate the legal work towards helping others furthering her attraction to Public Interest Law.
Ms. Campos Martinez holds positions as the Junior Editor - Family Law Quarterly Journal 2023-2024, NYLS 1L Liaison - First Generation Professionals Executive Board 2023-2024, NYLS.
She is currently working in a year-round internship with NYC/Bronx Legal Services through the Education Law Clinic at New York Law School.
As the VP of Financial Affairs and a member of MetroLALSA, Claudia hopes to aid the growth of the Latino community in the legal realm by promoting inclusivity, diversity, and equity.
Vice President of Membership: Nicole Fabian Peña
Nicole Fabian Peña (she/her) is a Dominican-American third-year law studen at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is a first-generation law student who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Bachelor's degree from Adelphi University where she double majored in Psychology and Criminal Justice and minored in Forensic Anthropology. During her college years, she was an active leader, holding several Executive Board positions, including Vice President of Programming for her sorority where she was responsible for organizing all of their philanthropic endeavors.
At Cardozo, Nicole is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Moot Court Honor Society, an E. Nathaniel Gates Scholar and Heyman Scholar. During her second year of law school she served as the President of the Latin American Law Student Association (“LALSA”) and is now serving as their 3L Advisor. She was awarded the Black, Asian & Latino Law Students Association Alumni (“BALLSA”) Scholarship which recognizes student leaders who have made a positive and meaningful contribution to the Cardozo community. She is currently MetroLALSA's Vice President of Membership, the President of Cardozo's LALSA, Director of Alumni Affairs for Cardozo's Sports Law Society, and Staff Editor for the Moot Court Honor Society.
Upon graduation Nicole hopes to pursue a career within the Corporate, Sports and Entertainment practice areas.
Alumni Director: jordan montoya
Jordan Montoya (he/him) is Elisabeth Haub School of Law Class of 2017 JD graduate. He began his career working within the criminal justice system with the goal of understanding crucial issues affecting public safety and communities of color.
He is currently MetroLALSA's Alumni Director and previously held a position as MetroLALSA’s Vice President of Social Action 2017.
Mr. Montoya is now serving as Associate Counsel at Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
Vice president: Gensis canela
Genesis Canela (she/her) is a rising 3L at Seton Hall Law from Freeport, NY and Newark, NJ. She attended Davidson College for undergrad and received a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. Genesis remained very active in the community while at Davidson, dedicating much of her work to nonprofits in the area. She also had the amazing opportunity of founding the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority Inc., the first Latina Sorority on Davidson’s campus. Genesis has noticed that many of our schools in the NY/NJ area do not do enough to see our community succeed in the legal field and she sees Metro as being a way to bridge that gap.
Genesis has previously served as MetroLALSA’s VP of Alumni Relations 2022-23.
During her 1L summer she had the amazing opportunity of being the Legal and Compliance Intern at Organon, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to women's health. Spring of 2L year she was a law clerk at a small firm in NJ, where she focused primarily on school law and insurance law. This past summer she was a Compliance Summer Associate at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in the Plano, TX office. This fall she will be part of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Seton Hall, primarily representing minors.
vice president of pipeline membership: DARIUS SANTANA
Darius Santana (he/him) from Washington Heights, NYC. Born and raised in the City. He completed his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Criminal Justice from The University at Albany (SUNY). After my time in Albany, he started working at the Manhattan DAs office. It was from there where he began to have interest in becoming an attorney and decided to apply to law school. He is now a 3L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law student at Pace University and will be graduating in 2024. He previous held a position as a 2L representative for Pace LALSA and as a 2L representative for the Criminal Justice Society at Pace Law. He now currently holds the positions VP of Pipeline Program for MetroLALSA and VP of External Affairs for Pace LALSA. Darius has an interest in public service work, specifically Criminal Law. This summer Darius has been working as an Asylum Application Assistant and On Call Counsel for the NYC Mayors Office.
Vice President of Fundraising: ODALMY RUIZ
Odalmy Ruiz (she/her) is a 3L at St. John’s University School of Law. She is a Staff Member of the St. John’s Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. She tutors first-year law students as a TA for Legal Writing, and Constitutional Law.
Ms. Ruiz currently holds positions as the Vice President of the Latin American Law Student Association, Treasurer of the Criminal Law Society, and Vice President of Fundraising for MetroLALSA.
This past summer she was a Summer Associate at Chartwell Law and was previously a judicial intern to the Honorable James L. Cott for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
She is currently a Law Clerk at Chartwell Law.
Vice President of Internal Affairs: aRIANA roDRIGUEZ-HERNANDEZ
Ariana Rodriguez-Hernandez (she/her) is a rising 3L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She graduated from The College of New Jersey, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
She was born in the Newark and was raised in Hillside, NJ. She is passionate about international law, juvenile justice and human rights law. During undergrad, she interned at the United Nations, where she presented research on Women Used as Weapons of War . She also interned for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, where she focussed on constituent services. As an undergraduate senior she interned for Judge Jacqueline Medina at the Bergen County Justice Center focussing on family law matters of domestic violence and adoptions. While in law school she briefly worked at a private law firm and now currently works as a case manager for gang involved and affected youth in the city of Trenton, NJ. She is passionate about juvenile justice and the need to break the school to prison pipeline.
She is the Vice President of Internal Affairs for MetroLALSA, National Director of Community Service for the National Latina/o Law Students Association (NLLSA), and the Pace LALSA Alumni Coordinator and MetroLALSA delegate.
This summer Ariana is interning at the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office as a legal intern for the Special Victim’s Unit and Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.
Vice President of Alumni Relations: ILEANA GOMEZ-ALBURQUERQUE
Ileana Gomez- Alburbuerque (She/her) is a 3L at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She graduated from John Jay College, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Latin American Studies.
She currently holds the positions of Vice President of Alumni Relations for MetroLALSA, National Director of Public Relations for the National Latina/o Law Students Association (NLLSA), and the Pace LALSA MetroLALSA delegate and Alumni Coordinator.
Ileana always knew she wanted to do something to help her community and law school has been another stepping stone that has given her the tools to achieve that goal in a way that she finds meaningful. She grew up in New York, however, Dominican Republic has always been her home. Returning to her home country, and learning about her grassroots, and experiencing first hand the opportunities that have presented themselves to her has led Ileana to want to do more and continue to work towards giving back. Being Latina means everything to her, it is her identity and where she belongs. She hopes to bring more awareness to the legal profession and continue to break barriers for others that look like her and identify with her experiences while simultaneously helping her community achieve their goals and dreams here in the United States.
She is currently working with the Mayor's Office of Immigration Affairs in NYC on its new policy initiative that was launched in June 2023 which focuses on providing assistance to asylum seekers to help them file their I-589s.
Alumni Director: Atenedoro Gonzalez
Born and raised in the South Bronx, Atenedoro Gonzalez (he/hime) fought for his community as a housing attorney with the Tenants Rights Coalition at Bronx Legal Services. Well versed in all aspects of landlord/tenant litigation in New York, Atenedoro defended cases on behalf of low-income Bronx residents for nonpayment of rent and holdovers designed to evict low-income families, as well as administrative hearings with NYCHA, HPD, and DHCR. Atenedoro also affirmatively litigated on behalf of tenant associations, bringing cases in Housing and New York Supreme Court to enforce the rights of renters in the Bronx and to combat housing discrimination. 💪
He previously served as the General Counsel and Policy Director for Council Member Oswald Feliz of the New York City Council 15th District, where he continued to serve the Bronx community, supervising a housing rights clinic and working with community leaders to promote policy most beneficial for the disenfranchised of the Bronx.
Most notably Atenedoro worked on legislation enacted to promote fire safety after an unfortunate fire claimed the lives of 17 Bronxites in January 2022.
He now serves as General Counsel to the Children's Arts & Science Workshops Inc. a youth services based nonprofit that provides afterschool and summer camp services to youth in predominantly underprivileged communities of color. His practice includes general non-profit administration, labor and employment disputes, city agency advocacy, and contracts based disputes.
In law school Atenedoro was an active member of MetroLALSA, working with other Latinx law students in promoting membership in the legal community, served as Vice President of LALSA, and served as the Editor-In-Chief of the Real Property Law Journal at St. John's University.